Changes
by striving-for-perfection
Summary: Redone to fit the plot of Season 4! PG13 for language... Emma and Sean--broken up for good? And Ash and Craig, what happens when he doesn't have time for her? Then, Manny convinces Emma to have a wild party while the parental units are way...!
1. Rejection Can Be Bruising

"Emma!" Emma looked up from her notebook. Mrs. Kwan was looking a bit upset. "What are you doing? I repeated the question three times! Stop daydreaming and keep your mind here in this classroom, and not up in the clouds!" Emma felt her cheeks flush.  
"Sorry, Mrs. Kwan," she mumbled, looking over to Manny's book to see what page they were on.  
"I know it's the last period of the day, but please, bear with me," she said half-heartedly, as if she herself was tired of the lesson, too.  
As soon as Mrs. Kwan turned to scribble something on the board, Manny leaned over in concern, frowning.  
"Em, what's up with you? Stop spacing out, you're gonna find yourself with a detention... and we don't want a reply of that whole messy week with Raditch," Manny said, referring to Emma's tirade on cafeteria food's healthiness. Raditch  
"I know," Emma said sharply. What was she taking advice from Manny for, anyway? They hadn't talked for a week, really. "Just thinking about things." Manny rolled her eyes. "Whatever." Emma meant Snake and his cancer, Sean and his new attitude, and Manny and her not talking, Emma not having a social life now between Snake's illness and Jack... things weren't looking good, and it put Emma in a bad mood.  
  
Mrs. Kwan's class rolled by and luckily Emma didn't get called on again. As the bell rang, she hurried out into the hall, eager to find Sean. She waded through the crowd over to Sean's locker. Sean was leaning into his locker, reading a slip of paper.  
"Sean!" Emma called, lighting up right away. "Sean!"  
He looked up, his expression frustrated.  
"Hey," he said, distracted, and looked back down to the paper, scratching his head.  
"What's that?"  
"I got another detention from Kwan for not having my report in on time. I could've sworn it wasn't due until next week," he said.  
"Yeah, I got humiliated in her class for spacing out, again," she said, shrugging. She tried to seem not-too-happy, because he was upset about the detention, but inside she was thrilled he was even talking to her. "Just don't worry too much about it, it's only one detention, and I'll wait for you so we can walk home together," she said, smiling, hoping he'd agree to it. Sean shook his head, then looked sideways at her.  
"I have plans, aren't you busy baby-sitting or something anyway?" he said, dampening Emma's good mood.  
"Sean, that's not fair-" Emma started.  
"Emma, I just don't feel like talking right now, especially to you. I gotta go," he said, scooping up his books and slamming shut his locker. With one last look, he walked the other way.  
Emma's face fell. She watched him walk away from her until she couldn't see him anymore, then hurried over to her locker. She kept trying the combination on her lock, her mind on Sean and not on the numbers. Manny was suddenly at her side, all ready to go home. It was strange that Manny wasn't with Sully.  
"Hey, Emma, what's up?"  
"Sean's mad-at me-because he got a detention from Kwan. I told him to just forget about it, and he got mad at me... things have been really bad between us since last week when we got in that fight, and now suddenly everything's shitty again. I just don't know what to do, I don't want him to be friends with people like them," she said flatly, finally opening the lock and snapping it open. "I want things to be like they used to be." Another thing was going around in Emma's head, about the laptop she was thinking Sean had taken. Probably for something to show the cool kids he was tough or some stupid thing. She wanted to talk to Sean and try to get him to confess, but he wouldn't even talk to her. Now Emma didn't know what to do... But Emma couldn't tell Manny that. She didn't know where Manny stood with anything anymore.  
"Oh, sorry, Emma, maybe he'll come around by tomorrow." Manny said. Emma nodded, and the two of them left out of the front doors.  
  
Ashley and Craig were together at Craig's locker, and things were heating up. "What are we doing tomorrow night..." Ashley said, when they separated.  
"I told you, I have plans with the guys," Craig said, leaning in for another kiss.  
"Whoa," Ashley said. "We haven't been together all week... you've been with them. This weekend, I thought we were going to spend some time together," she said, pushing him back gently.  
"Well, Ash," he said, getting defensive. "I mean... there's Saturday? It's only Friday night. See Ellie or something tomorrow, and Saturday we'll spend some time together." He tried to kiss her again, but she avoided his lips.  
"I gotta go," she said, turning around and grabbed her bag and coat. She slammed her locker, took one last look at Craig, and stomped down the hall and out the door. Craig sighed, hitting his head onto the locker.  
"I can't make her happy," he muttered, then grabbed his own backpack and went after her outside, but she was already out of sight. 


	2. Hope You're Well

That night Emma tried calling Sean on the phone, but no one picked up. She felt like she had no one to talk to. Manny was a different person, and she couldn't really talk to her anymore. But, Emma thought, I really haven't given her that much of a chance. Maybe she hasn't changed too much. Emma picked up the phone again and dialed the Santos' phone number.  
"Hello?" Mrs. Santos picked up. She had a thick Philippine accent.  
"Hi, Mrs. Santos, it's Emma. Can I speak with Manny?"  
"Hello, Em, nice to hear your voice. Just a moment," she said, and Emma could here her shout Manny's name.  
"Hello?" another phone picked up.  
"Nice to talk to you, Emma, hope you are well," Mrs. Santos said and hung up.  
"Hello?" Manny said again.  
"Hey, it's Emma."  
"Hi Em. What's shakin'?"  
"Nothing... just thought I'd call to see what's going on."  
"Same old... talking to Sully online," she said, happily.  
"Cool..."  
"Have you talked to Sean?" she asked, seemingly distracted.  
"No. I don't know what to do anymore. He won't talk to me, and he's just hanging with those bad kids so much. I don't know what to do!"  
"Em, want me to try to talk to him?"  
Emma thought about this, but she wasn't so sure she trusted Manny with Sean anymore. "No, I think it would make things worse," she said finally. "I think I'm going to just... oh, I don't know. Maybe I'll write him an e-mail or something, or call him later. I just want to see where everything's going." Emma waited for Manny to answer. "Manny?"  
"Yeah? Oh, yeah, Em, e-mail. It's the way to go. Um, Sully wants me to call him. Can I call you back after?"  
Emma hesitated. Her first reaction would be to be mad, couldn't Manny talk to him any time? But then Emma thought back to when Manny said how Emma wasn't there for her when she needed her. Plus, being mad wouldn't make Manny stay on the phone.  
"Sure, talk to you then," she said, and hung up.  
It felt good to talk to Manny, Emma thought. But she still wasn't satisfied with everything. She picked up the phone and dialed Sean's number again, only to get their answering machine again.  
  
The next day Emma went straight to her locker with her head down, afraid she might see something she didn't want to-like Sean striding down the hall acting like a badass with his new loser-friends. But to her surprise, he came over to her by himself.  
"Let's talk." He said, completely monotone. Emma swallowed hard, looking up from her locker. She nodded uncertainly, hoping silently that it was an apology and not a can-we-talk-breakup sort of thing...  
Sean brought Emma outside and sat down on the bench, where she sat next to him. He sighed.  
"Emma, I think maybe we should just cool it for a while, okay? I can't take all the pressure you put on me and just, like, all this environmental shit, it's not something I care about..." he said, looking straight at her. This isn't him talking, Emma thought. It's them. "And I just... we don't have anything in common. You never have time for me. And... now I'm with them." He said. Emma didn't have to ask. She knew who 'them' was. "I'm just sick of everything, I don't want to have to share you with your brother. It's not fair... and you know you mean a lot to me, but if you aren't going to even be around... what's the point?"  
Emma couldn't even say anything. She blinked a couple times, trying to keep the tears in. Looking to the side, she saw Sean's new posse standing near the vending machine, having a laugh. Probably because Emma wasn't taking this easily.  
"Would you say something so we..." Sean began, but Emma broke him off.  
"Is it because I don't put out? Is it because I care about something, and I'm not a fucking junkie with nobody and nothing? I thought you were better than that, I thought you were better than them. I thought I knew you, but apparently I was wrong," she spat the words out at him. Sean looked surprised, then his face became angry.  
"I have fun with them, Emma. I have fun doing stuff I like. Not going around the forest picking up other people's trash. That's not something I like to do; sue me."  
"You aren't being fair, Sean! In relationships people have to give and take-"  
"You just said it yourself, Emma! What the hell is wrong with you! I give and give and give, and all you do is take. You take our time and throw it out the window so you can baby-sit your brother, or have another fucking environmental service... whatever the hell you call it. You don't give me the time of day." He stood up, his shadow darkening Emma's face. "This is it. I can't wait around forever."  
Emma didn't say anything, just looked down and promised herself she wouldn't cry, but the tears were flowing as she thought of something to say.  
"Go fuck up again, Sean." She said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. "Just go." She looked up at him, their eyes piercing each other's. "Go."  
Sean shook his head, and, clenching his fists, turned around and started back into the building, but turned and looked at Emma one last time, the anger in his eyes gone. But she had her face in her hands, not looking at him. 


	3. OnlyComesAroundOnceEveryBlueMoon

That day Ashley avoided Craig like a plague. Every time she saw him she turned the other way or ducked into a classroom.  
  
At the end of the day, Emma passed Sean in the hall. Her eyes met his, and she looked as if she was going to cry. Sean tore his eyes away, and kept walking. Emma looked over her shoulder at him walking, but he didn't look back.  
Emma met Manny at her locker. She had already told Manny about everything 1st period. "What are you doing tonight?" she sighed, trying to get Sean off her mind. "Spike and Archie are going away for the weekend, and Spike's sister is taking Jack, finally. You can sleep over if you don't have plans with Sully or something..." she said sulkily.  
Manny stopped putting her books away and just stared at Emma, her face completely lit up and mischievous from underneath her tan, pink and brown cap.  
"What are you thinking? No parties, Manny..."  
"Emma! Come on!" Manny bounced up and down. "It would be the experience of a lifetime. We can invite everyone, and it'd be THE SHIT. We can even invite Sean," she winked at Emma, but Emma shook her head.  
"Manny, that's crazy. I'll be grounded for life. Mom said one friend..."  
"Emma." Manny said disbelievingly. "Don't be stupid. This is the perfect opportunity, and it'll get you out of this mood. It'll be great."  
"All right, all right. But everything stays under control, and..."  
"You won't regret this. I love you, Em!" Manny smiled.  
Emma looked over toward Sean. "At least someone does," she said quietly.  
  
Ashley went along the rest of the day thinking about Craig and how she really was being unfair to him. "Why can't Craig be like how Jimmy was in our relationship?" she mused. "Everything was so much easier then, except, well, it wasn't Craig..."  
"Hey," Ellie said, shaking Ashley's arm in science class. "Ash, we're supposed to be doing the experiment, not staring into space."  
Ashley's eyes whirled back into focus. "Oh, guess I just..." she said as her mind drifted again, "wasn't thinking."  
Ellie rolled her eyes. "You really need to snap out of it, Ash. You can think about Craig later tonight, when you guys are sucking face. It's much more appropriate."  
Ashley looked at Ellie, shaking her head. "I didn't tell you?" she said. "Craig and I got in a fight..." she said, and went on to explain everything.  
"Well, you're kind of being unfair, Ash. I mean, Jimmy was an only- comes-around-once-every-blue-moon kind of dude. He worshiped you, and you hated it. Now that Craig has a life of his own, you hate that."  
"You're right, El."  
"I know," Ellie nodded in agreement.  
  
Meanwhile, Manny was busy telling everyone about the party at Emma's.  
"Hey, Toby, JT!" she shouted from across the hall. "What are you two losers up to tonight? A game of cards?"  
JT watched Emma and Manny come toward him and Toby, and his heart fell. He hadn't wanted Manny so much ever since she turned him down and embarrassed him right in front of her upperclassman boyfriend. He still liked her, and hoped that maybe Sully wouldn't be there tonight.  
"Don't know, maybe some hardcore Playstation, then some skating," JT said, giving Toby a sideways smile. Toby rolled his eyes. "Why?"  
"Well, if you can fit it into your schedule," Manny said sarcastically, "stop by at Emma's tonight. She's having a party. No rents."  
JT thought about this. "For real? No parents?" he looked at Toby.  
"Doesn't sound like a good idea to me, no parents. If you guys remember what happened last time someone had a party with no parents," he said, referring to when his stepsister, Ashley, took Ecstasy.  
"Get over it, Toby," JT scowled. "Don't be such a baby."  
"7:00." Manny said.  
"We'll be there," JT winked at Emma. Emma took a step back. "Great," Manny said. "See ya then!" Emma and Manny walked further down the hall. "How many people do you plan to invite, to MY house?" Emma asked. "I can only fit so many people in my house. Plus I do have neighbors that aren't completely deaf and blind. Let's keep the list to a minimum. We have the whole weekend." But Manny wasn't listening. "Craig!" she was running down the hall shouting to her ex-boyfriend, a grade nine. Emma sighed and picked up her pace, trying to catch up.  
  
By the end of the day, just about everyone knew about the party. Emmy was getting nervous. "Manny, the whole school's going to come. What am I going to do? I'm going to get busted for sure," "Emma, the whole thing is under control. Stop worrying!" Manny snapped. "You need to live a little." But Emma didn't stop worrying. The only thing that she was sure of was that she knew something bad was bound to happen.  
  
Paige, Terri, Hazel, Spinner and Jimmy were hanging around Paige's locker at the end of the day. "So, what's going on tonight?" Paige said, applying some lip gloss with the help of a small compact mirror. "Well, I heard there's going to be a party, I think at a grade eight's house," Terri said. Paige threw a nasty look at Terri. "Have you lost all sense of reason, Terri? We're grade nines. We don't go to grade eight parties." "Better than any idea you came up with," Hazel reasoned. "No. That's definitely a no." "Well, I'm gonna go. Better than playing ball with only two people, or watching you and Hazel play with your hair," Spinner said flatly. Paige raised an eyebrow, disbelieving of what her boyfriend just said. "Hun, if you don't like what we do for fun, then find some other friends." "Paige, stop being a bitch and just go. It's a party." Jimmy said.  
Paige pouted and didn't say anything.  
"Fine. But if this party sucks..."  
  
Emma and Manny got some money from Emma's and then headed over to the market, where they got balloons, soda, and chips. They ran back to Emma's where they blew up the balloons with Snake's helium tank and set up the food and drinks. Manny turned on some Sean Paul.  
"I can't wait, this is gonna be so kick-ass." Manny said.  
"Is Sully coming?" Emma asked.  
"Of course! He told me he wouldn't miss it," Manny replied smugly.  
"Just don't be having sex all over my house, k, Manny? Or should I said, MANUELA!" Emma said, laughing. Manny threw a pillow at Emma, and it was like old times.  
"You don't need to worry about that..." she said reassuringly.  
Emma rolled her eyes, then looked up at the clock on the wall. "Manny! It's already 5:30! They'll be here in an hour and a half!"  
  
The girls finally, after much procrastination, chose what they'd wear. Emma chose a high-necked green top with darker green sparkles and designs, along with jeans, a colored scarf, and Birkenstocks. Manny decided on a hot pink tube top and short jean skirt.  
"You look like a hippie, Em," Manny giggled.  
"Yeah..." Emma said, not even touching what Manny looked like.  
Ding, dong. 


End file.
